I am so excited!!!!

[dverna]

After an almost 40 year hiatus from this madness I am getting back into casting.

When I was working, I had the money and too little time to "waste" casting. But now that I am retired things have changed.

Yesterday I opted to enter the group buy for the MiHec 311365 198 gr bullet to feed my new sniper rifle for "inexpensive" practice. I also sprung for the 314241 154gr plinker for my knock about .30/30 and lots of cheap shooting fun.

I have a new .40 S&W to feed as well and I am considering getting the Magma Master Caster to churn out beaucoup pistol ammo but I am leery of the leading issues I have seen reported. Before spending $1000+ I will likely buy some commercial cast bullets to see how they work and go from there. Any opinions on the Master Caster and a good .40 bullet are very welcomed.

I have tens of thousands of commercial cast 9mm, .38 and .45 bullets but will add those molds to the Master Caster - if I live long enough.

Luckily, I have a Star lubricator/sizer so I am set on that. I still have 500 lbs of Linotype from 40 years ago and 500 lbs of wheel weight ingots. What ratio of Lino to WW should I use for the 198 gr bullets (I wish to drive these over 2200fps). I assume that for the .40 and 154gr .308 plinker loads I can cast WW without adding Lino. Advice appreciated.

Don

[runfiverun]

i have a master caster, 2 actually.
i built a stand and mounted one of the pots on it to hand cast with 2 and 4 cavity molds, it's sees 50 times the use the regular set-up does.
i still have 20 sumthin molds for the master caster and have sold several others,and generally do most everything by hand.
it's just as fast or faster than the master caster,and easier to use multiple molds during a run.

i wish to drive my 30-06 over 2200 fps too, but just buying an arbritrary mold making some hard boolits and putting some powder behind is in reality not gonna happen.
not impossible but the odds are against it happening.
in fact your 30--30 will probably be shooting 23-2400 long before your 0-6 is.

[cbrick]

Don,

I shoot my 308 with the RCBS 180 @ 1900 fps with Clip-on WW +2% tin air cooled. Accurate and zero leading. No need for lino for that.

My 30-30 does very well with bullets ranging from 160 gr to to over 200 in the 1800 to 1900 fps range and again with WW plus 2% tin, air cool. No need for lino here either.

I don't load for the 06 or 40 so I'm no help on those.

I would hold off on the Master Caster for awhile but I do highly recommend the Master Pot. You can't appreciate the joy of 40 pounds of exactly the same alloy until you experience it. It takes about 10 minutes longer for the Master Pot to heat 40 pounds to casting temp than does my RCBS pot to heat up 20 pounds.

Rick

[dverna]

Guys,
Thanks for the info so far.

I should have added the 198 gr bullet is for a .308. Sorry about any confusion. I realize that getting something to work at that speed in a .308 could be a challenge but that is part of the fun (as long as it is not to damn frustrating - LOL). I assumed (I know - bad to do), with the number of guys on the group buy, there is a chance of success. My goal is 6" groups at 300 yards and 10" groups at 500 yards. Not expecting Sierra Matchking results from $.10 bullets.

rfr,
Interesting information. Maybe I would be better off with a really good bottom pour pot and cast by hand? That way I am not limited to Magma molds and can do the four cavity rifle molds I have ordered. I have my old Lyman 20# pot and was going to use a ladle to cast rifle bullets.

[geargnasher]

Ladle the rifle boolits for best results. Skip the MC for now, maybe forever. You don't need Linotype, but you my find you need some pure lead down the road for alloying tempered rifle boolits. The .40 S&W has been covered many times, there are some basic issues and basic fixes for them. Commercial cast bullets are usually too hard, too brittle, too small, and have lousy lube, so they often lead-up guns.

Gear

[runfiverun]

we all kinda have to find our own way to make things work.
there are some universal trueism's though.
consistent casting makes better boolits.
how the boolit fits the throat and engages the rifling will dictate accuracy and velocity.
remember we really do deal in thousandths of an inch.
and things can be manipulated to suit your needs.

my wife casts with the mastercaster and does a good job with it, but for anything that needs very consistent boolits i have to do them by hand so i can moniter the mold temp and casting cadence.
plus some molds just fill better with a swirling action [holding the mold at an angle]
and some really want a straight fast shot into the hole [long skinny boolits usually]

if i were starting over i'd learn how to measure a rifles throat and order molds made to each gun.
forget what the weight comes out to and just go by measurements.
leaving a little boolit to compensate for throat wear over time.

[Bloodman14]

Got pics of that one?

[Ben]

dverna

Yesterday I opted to enter the group buy for the MiHec 314241 198 gr bullet to feed my new sniper rifle for "inexpensive" practice. I also sprung for the 311365 154gr plinker

************************

I believe you've got the weights of these bullets confused in post # 1 ?

The 311365 doesn't weigh 154 grs., I own one of them.

Ben

[dverna]

Ben,

You are correct. I made the correction.


To All.
When I was a puppy, I used to ladle cast with a 10 cavity H&G 148 gr BB .358 mold. My only other mold was a single cavity Lyman for a rifle bullet.

I would have a damp towel to freeze off and cool the mold sprue plate every cast and to get some real speed with it. I had a heck of a pile of bullets after 3 hours but I was tired. That mold made perfect bullets (3" 50 shot 50 yard groups with a S&W M52 in a Ransom Rest).

I also remember how god awful slow that single cavity mold was. I never did get good accuracy with it so I gave up on it and shot J's in the rifle. I guess that is one reason I am looking forward to those 4 cavity rifle molds. More satisfying production rate and the challenge of getting a decent load with each of them. You guys are to blame for this quest.

I will hold back on getting the Master Caster. I appreciate the advice.

I will search the site to get more info in the .40 S&W and buy 4-6 cavity mold for it. If anyone has specific recommendations for a 160-180 gr bullet mold, let me know.

[geargnasher]

My .40s like the Lee 175-grain truncated cone boolit with the single lube groove. There are plenty of others, but if you're into production, the six-cavity Lee moulds serve very well and are very inexpensive.

Gear

[dverna]

Thanks Gear for your thoughts and recommendations.

I will start with the Lee mold you suggested for the .40

Don

[Lizard333]

On the 40 you may find that a softer lead will provide you better results. Slug your barrel. Size is probably the most important. Go a thousandth over and start from there. A good lube is needed as well. I use carnuba red from white label.

On your rifle rounds I personally add Lino to my WW. I add one pound of Lino to 9 pounds of WW. Never had an issue.

Welcome back and ask questions when they come up.

Good luck!!

[40Super]

For all but one match barreled .40, I have to size bigger than any you can buy except at http://dardascastbullets.com/ , he was the only commercial seller that had over .401. If your going to buy a mold you can also try Accurate Molds, you'll have it in 5-7days and drop the size you need. Many "factory" molds won't drop big enough for many .40's, you never know for sure until you buy it then cast some, if they are too small, well, you have some work to do to fix it. I quit getting those kinds of molds.